GUILDERLAND — Three projects in Guilderland will benefit from the final batch of federal pandemic funds announced by Albany County on Aug. 27.

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy will use half of its allotment to tear down an old farmhouse on its recently acquired addition to the Bozen Kill Preserve and the rest for more hiking trails.

Guilderland Youth Lacrosse will put the money towards a box lacrosse field. And the Altamont Fair — an annual tri-county event with agrarian roots — will expand gardens, plant fruit trees, and help with extending the Long Path.

After receiving 100 applications, Albany County divided the $7.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds it had earmarked for community development among 40 programs.

All three Guilderland projects came under the heading of recreation and outdoor infrastructure.

Youth lax

Guilderland Youth Lacrosse received $200,000 in ARPA funds, according to Doug Breakell, president of the board of directors.

Breakell, who grew up in Guilderland, started playing lacrosse as a seventh-grader when the sport “was just getting off the ground,” he said.

The youth program started when his daughter was in kindergarten; she is now in sixth grade.

“She loves it and plays as much as possible,” said Breakell, adding, “Lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport.”

European settlers first saw the game being played by Native Americans in the 1600s. Canadians in the 1920s developed box lacrosse, which is played in hockey rinks there — without the ice.

Breakell explained that the box lacrosse game involves smaller teams in less space.

“It’s a shorter field with quicker movements; it hones young kids’ skills for passing, catching, and footwork,” he said. 

It also has practical advantages. If there is snow on the field in May, kids will still be able to play, he said. “And little kids won’t lose the ball in the woods.”

Several other local places already have box lacrosse, he said, naming Saratoga, Niskayuna, and Shaker.

Guilderland has been fundraising for six years to build a box lacrosse field, Breakell said, and still needs to raise about $150,000. Once that is added to the $200,000 from the county, the project can be built very quickly, Breakell said.

Rather than being in a hockey facility, Guilderland’s box lacrosse will be played at the town’s DiCaprio Park. It will have boards along its sides, like a hockey rink, Breakell said, and artificial turf on the ground.

“DiCaprio has the best fields in the area,” said Breakell. “This will be a great addition.”

Guilderland Youth Lacrosse has both a spring program, with about 400 players, and a fall program, when soccer and field hockey also draw players, with about half that number. The coaches — all volunteers — number about 40 in the spring and 20 in the fall.

Any child in kindergarten through sixth grade is invited to participate. “We have equipment so you can try it,” said Breakell.

“We always will welcome anyone,” he said. “If your school district doesn’t offer lacrosse, like at Berne-Knox-Westerlo, we’ll take you in.”

He spoke of how valuable the sport is not just physically but socially and emotionally for kids.

“We want these kids to get to know each other, sharing a game they love,” he said. “We want more kids playing.”

Breakell credited the town as well as the county for being supportive and said of the $200,000 grant and the box lacrosse it will engender, “This is a really big deal, it’s just awesome for the community.”

MHLC

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy applied for $100,000, according to its director, Mark King, and will use about half that amount to demolish an abandoned house at the end of Bond Road in Guilderland.

The house, which King said has no historic value, estimating it was built in the 1920s or ’30s, is on property the conservancy recently acquired, expanding the Bozenkill Preserve to nearly 700 connected acres.

When the building was condemned, “a tiny potential for asbestos” was noted, said King, adding, “That gets expensive.”

A parking lot, funded by another grant, has recently been built across the road from the abandoned house where a barn once stood.

Trails have been or will be constructed that will allow hikers to walk in loops from the original part of the preserve. Altogether, there will be about five miles of hiking trails, King said.

The trail work, led by staff — Marshall Lefebvre “is our lead guy,” said King — was also done by two summer stewards and a corps of volunteers.

“We want to involve as many people as we can,” said King, citing as an example a corporate group that did a day of work.

Although the Bozen Kill has been used recreationally for years, King said, “we’ve added some new areas and are trying to upgrade trails that exist.”

Since the area is sloped and extremely wet, “It’s a constant effort,” King said.

The conservancy, he notes, is always seeking a balance: “We want to let people connect with nature without disturbing habitat.”

Altamont Fair

The Altamont Fair — which just came off a banner Fair Week with over 65,000 people attending — received $125,000 in ARPA funds, according to Director Emerita Pat Canaday.

“The Albany, Schenectady, Greene County Agricultural and Historical Societies Inc. also known as the Altamont Fair is very excited to receive this grant,” said Canaday in an email responding to Enterprise questions on how the fair would be spending its funds.

“Our work plan includes upgrading our physical infrastructure to better support our raised bed gardens, plant fruit trees in the grove, and participate in creating the Long Path connection from the Village of Altamont to Guilderland. Our mission is to educate the public about agriculture and history.

“Two aspects of the grant concentrate on agriculture; first to increase awareness of growing food, using our live demonstration raised bed gardens. The produce that is raised is donated to local food pantries. The funds will be used to create water catchment areas and add gutters to our buildings to use and store that water in the gardens.

“As a result, we can showcase the water systems during the Altamont Fair and have more produce to donate to the local food pantries. We want to illustrate how to create raised bed gardens to make it accessible to everyone!

“The second agricultural part of this grant is to purchase and plant fruit trees in the Grove area by the Dutch Barn. The Dutch Barn is a historic barn, illustrating very specific barn construction techniques common from 1620s to around 1820.

“Everett Rau, an avid supporter of the Dutch Barn and The Altamont Fair, had a vision for the grove, to create a farmstead setting around the barn. Planting fruit trees is another step closer to that vision. Although Everett passed in 2018 at 98, this project will live on in honor of our dear friend Everett Rau.

“The third portion of this grant will be dedicated to creating space for outdoor recreation. Currently we host Porter’s Challenge in June to celebrate our dear friend Porter Bidleman, who in his 90s, would walk the fairgrounds every day, twice around using his walker.

“We decided to challenge our community to make a commitment to walking the loop on the fairgrounds, to honor the memory of Porter, to enjoy the outdoors and get moving!  We will use the grant to create a connection on the Long Path, connecting the Village of Altamont to Guilderland.

“This will also tie into the proposed Helderberg Greenway. This project continues our vision for people to get to know their environment, observe the world around them and understand our agriculture and nature are important parts of their lives.

“As a member of the community, the Altamont Fair is committed to supporting agriculture by example, creating an environment where people can both learn about and participate in the great outdoors in our community.”